Eggplant, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce pasta

Hello everyone! Before to start describing my new delicious pasta recipe, I wanted to invite my dear followers and bloggers friends to read the bottom of this post… I have an important message for you…

Bus since I don’t want to bother anyone else that could be reading this recipe, let’s talk about it: ready in twenty minutes, this pasta combine veggies and mozzarella cheese in a vey appealing way that even the kids could not resist!!! In my opinion it is a very refreshing dish, because the meat absence makes this pasta very light and enjoyable even in a hot summer day. A can of hot tomatoes sauce cooked the Italian way will melt the mozzarella cubes and sweeten the sour aftertaste of the eggplant. I am sure you will love it!

4 SERVINGS INGREDIENTS

1 can tomato sauce

1/4 small sized white onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove

sea salt to taste

1 pinch nut meg

black pepper to taste

2 tbs. extravergin olive oil

AND

1 pack (1 lb.) penne pasta

1 medium sized fresh eggplant washed and cut in cubes

about 7 oz. (200 gr.) mozzarella cheese cut in small thin pieces

4 tbs. olive oil

crushed red pepper

2 tps. dried oregano

sea salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

Prepare the tomatoes sauce by panfry 1/4 small onion finely chopped and a garlic clove in 2 tbs. of olive oil. Once the onion becomes translucent add the tomatoes sauce, a pinch of sea salt, nut meg, rosemary and black pepper and let it cook t medium heat for about 15 minutes. You can let the sauce cook until your pasta is ready to get dressed, but be careful not to burn it! For a more descriptive recipe with pictures step by step, read my post about “the truth of marinara sauce“. While the tomato sauce is cooking, heat a big pot of salted water where you will cook the penne (or the other kind of pasta you picked) as soon as the water will start boiling, rigorously the Italian way ;-).

Now it’s time to prepare the eggplant: wash and dry the eggplant and deprive it of the stem. Cut it half a inch little cubes.

Heat 5 tbs. of olive oil in a large pan and panfry the eggplant cubes for about 5-8 minutes, stirring time to time. Sprinkle some sea salt, the dried oregano and if you wish, a pinch of crushed red pepper.

The eggplant pieces are cooked when they change their color and become tender. Now, cut the mozzarella slices in very little and thin pieces (this way the mozzarella will melt super easily as soon as it will get in contact with the hot pasta) and set aside.

When the penne are cooked, dry it very well in a colander, transfer the pasta in a big bowl and very quickly pour the mozzarella pieces, the eggplants and the tomato sauce.

Mix the ingredients together and serve still hot. YUM! So tasty!

LEARTN IT, MADE IT, LOVED IT!

TIPS: – When you are about to buy the eggplant, make sure to pick the more shiny, even and hard one. The good quality of the eggplant is the key for the best result. Often, when I buy eggplants here in Midwest, I find them not fresh, and full of seeds. So I know my pasta will be slightly bitter. But when you know it, you can deal with it! The fresher is the product, the better is its taste.

– Any kind of “short” pasta will work with this dressing: maccheroni, penne, farfalle… you choice!

Here I am apologizing with my loyal readers… I am so sorry I let you down for few months! Life has been very busy lately, my laptop decided to die leaving me with no notice and – most important – I finally took action to make real a project I have had in mind for a long time: getting the license for a home bakery!!!!! So now, not only I will be a food blogger (more or less persistent) but I will also cook for the public, which makes me feel super excited and nervous at the same time!!!! Now that you know why I disappeared for a while I hope you will consider to keep reading and following me, and supporting me as you have done so far! I wouldn’t be where I am today without you all!! THANK YOU!

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leave a comment and support my blog! And if you’ll try this recipe, don’t forget to take a picture of it and post it on your Instagram account with the Hashtag #beautyandfourkids!